Billy Bulger: Whitey’s lot ‘tragic,’ worries about his health

Richard WeirThursday, March 28, 2013

Credit: Herald File

Whitey Bulger

Former Senate President William Bulger told the Herald he and his imprisoned mobster brother, James “Whitey” Bulger, said the two chat often, and he called the accused mass killer’s “lot” — rotting in a Plymouth jail cell — “a tragic situation.”

“I think he welcomes the opportunity to speak, because he doesn’t have anyone with whom he can speak,” William Bulger said at a fundraiser for City Council President Steve Murphy at Anthony’s Pier 4 tonight. “So he can run a pretty good monologue and so the visit is, it’s always friendly. It’s not a rant. It’s measured. He inquires about people.

He’s hopeful about various things and so generally, it’s in a certain sense, a tragic situation.”When asked what specifically is tragic about his once-fugitive brother’s imprisonment, the former powerbroker pol said, “I think in a very obvious way. His prospects are limited.

Bulger is being held at the Plymouth County House of Corrections while he awaits a June federal trial on 19 murder charges. Bulger has been hospitalized for heart issues during his stay. William Bulger said he is worried about his brother’s health deteriorating.

“Well, there are signs of that. He’s under some stress,” Bulger said. “It’s, I don’t like to use the word solitary confinement, but that’s his lot right now. At his age, according to those who, they know better than I, but they tell me that’s very, very tough.”

He said his brother passes his days behind bars with books.

“That’s all he can do is read,” Bulger said. “But he’s a good reader. He’s always read. So, uh, he takes that seriously. I think he’s just finished a David McCullough book. Is that John Adams? It might be John Adams.”

Whitey Bulger’s lawyers said the accused South Boston crime kingpin and FBI informant will take the stand at his own trial, where they will prove he was granted immunity for the crimes he’s accused of committing.

William Bulger said he is not sure how his brother will fare at trial.

“I have no idea,” he said. “I know this doesn’t seem possible, but I never read any of the books and I very seldom even read press on the whole matter. I don’t. ... He makes many protestations about his innocence. I think it’s for him to make the utterances, and not me.”

Whitey Bulger spent 16 years on the run — mainly living in Santa Monica under an assumed name with his girlfriend, Catherine Greig. The ex-University of Massachusetts president was questioned by a congressional panel 10 years ago about his brother’s whereabouts, but denied any knowledge at that time.